“He turned me away. Twice,” I repeated, taping butterfly bandages over the temple cut. “I showed up for two days in a row, begging for any sign that you and Lucia and Henry were okay. And nothing. Not a word from you.”
“I didn’t know.” His voice roughened with anger, not at me, but at something else. “Harris — the house manager who probably answered the door when you came looking — he called me earlier. He asked me about wedding preparations for the solarium at Ashgrove House and whether they were still needed or not. I told him about you, and how I’d fucked up. He didn’t say a damn thing about visitors asking for me when we spoke.”
I paused, my mouth falling open.
“You think he... what? Forgot to mention that I practically knocked down the door looking for you for two straight days?”
Ben’s gaze met mine, sharp despite the pain he was obviously in.
“Or, maybe, he omitted it on purpose. Henry’s guy at King Security Solutions vetted him, but Vivian might have gotten to him, somehow. And if he’s feeding Vivian intel... she probably believes that the clause is going to work out in her favor.”
A chill ran through me.
“She’s coming back in two days. If he’s spying for Vivian?—”
“That’s tomorrow’s problem,” he muttered. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”
I nodded, pausing to look around at the hundreds of roses and had to smile.
“You and your grand gestures. Filling my apartment with thorns? Subtle.”
He huffed a laugh, wincing.
“I wanted to show you how I feel, not just tell you.”
“Yeah, well.” I cupped his cheek. “It worked. But next time, maybe text first? ‘Hey, not dead, just helping Henry handle Lucia’s asshole ex.’ Something like that could have solved a lot of problems.”
“Noted.” His hand caught mine, thumb tracing my knuckles. “Chrissy... what I said about turning myself in for what I did to Brett and Hayden? I meant it. I’d do it, if you wanted me to.”
My throat tightened.
“No. Don’t. You don’t have to martyr yourself and spend the rest of your life behind bars to prove that you love me. You protected me, and we’ll figure everything out… together.”
His eyes searched mine.
“You... still want that? You’re willing to give me another chance?”
I leaned in, pressing my forehead to his.
“I’m pissed, Ben. Furious. But yeah. I love you, too, even though you behaved like an unhinged idiot.”
He exhaled like I’d lifted the world off his shoulders.
“Marry me for real. Tomorrow. Please?”
“Yes.”
I kissed him softly.
He cupped my face and kissed me back, then groaned.
“I need you, Chrissy.”
“But you’re hurt?—”
“We can be gentle tonight, but I think I might die if I can’t make love to you now.”
I kissed him again, then pulled back with a smile.
